An Interesting Day
by RAW19
Summary: Ash and Dawn are invited by Angie, of the Pokemon Summer Camp, for an afternoon in Snowpoint City. Both Ash and Angie have been holding back a secret from the other, and both hope they'll have the courage to reveal it. It's bound to be an interesting day.


"Hurry up, Ash! We're going to be late!" Dawn cried out, as she ran off the ferry. Several people, trying to board the ferry, cried out in shock and surprise as she pressed past them in her haste.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Ash Ketchum called back, as he ran after her, the tiny yellow mouse on his shoulder doing it's best to hang on. "It's not my fault the boat ran late!"

"Maybe not, but it is your fault the cafeteria ran out of pizza." Dawn countered.

"Piii..." Was the only response that Ash's favorite Pokemon had.

Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Piplup had all been invited to Snowpoint City by Angie, their friend from Summer Camp. They hadn't seen her for a few months now, and they were all wondering how she was doing. Last time, Angie had nearly gotten in serious trouble for accidentally evolving another trainers Lickitung into Licky-Licky. Luckily, the trainer had been meaning to do that anyway and it had all worked out for the best.

Ash had even offered to take the heat for Angie and, upon realizing what kind of person Ash was, Angie's Parents had practically given her away to Ash. Both Ash and Angie had blushed crimson and quickly changed the subject.

Ash chuckled, guiltily, at Dawn's comment, a sweat-drop appearing on the back of his head. "Well, that was only because they were having a sale and I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and-"

"Save it!" Dawn interrupted, looking around for the area they were supposed to meet Angie at.

"If we arrive late because of your endless appetite, I'll never forgive you! Now, I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be this way!" She exclaimed, dramatically pointing North. Brock probably could have found the right way in an instant but, due to a small crisis at the Pewter Gym, he'd been unable to come. She started running again, but forgot to mind her step, stumbled over a snow-drift, and went flying forward.

Ash, right behind her, stumbled over the same drift and waved his arms to try to balance himself. He failed and fell forward onto Dawn. Pikachu had fallen off of Ash's shoulder, while he'd been busy flailing, and fell onto Dawn first. The end result was that Pikachu had become squished between the two heavy bodies and was none too pleased about it.

"Piiii...ka-CHU!"

Dawn had already had the wind knocked out her, when the two fell on top of her and crushed her more fully into the cold snow, but both she and Ash found more then enough breath to scream loudly in pain as some 100-odd volts of electricity coursed through their veins. Ash was quick to roll off of them and lay, panting, in the snow.

"Just...as strong as ever, Pikachu." Ash gasped out. "Guess all that special training is really paying off."

Pikachu just rubbed his head, sheepishly. Dawn, however, quickly jumped up and pulled a hand-mirror out of her bag.

"Oh no! My hair's a total mess now! I can't meet Angie looking like this, what would she think?" Dawn cried.

Ash looked on in confusion as Dawn quickly pulled out her hair supplies, took off her hat, took off her hair clips, gently combed the left side of her hair, gently combed the right side of her hair, gently combed down the back of her hair, replaced her hair clips, put her hat back on, and looked in the mirror again, smiling in contentment.

"Awesome!" Dawn squealed. "It looks even better then it did at first!"

"I still don't see the difference." Ash replied.

"YOU ARE SUCH A BOY!" Dawn screamed, Ash cringing in fear and surprise.

Angie was waiting at a pillar, a few hundred feet south-west of the Snowpoint City Gym. At the top of the pillar was a pretty famous Lake that froze off and on year round, regardless of how cold the temperature was year-round. Right now, it was frozen solid, so Angie had invited the others to come for a night of ice-skating and dinner later, her treat.

Though, mainly, it was an excuse to spend some more time with Ask Ketchum, wanna-be Pokemon Master and boy-who'd-stolen-her heart after coming through for her on several, life-changing occasions.

Not that he knew how she felt. She could just die.

She turned when she heard her name being called and three figures ran up.

"Ash! Dawn! Pikachu! You guys are 15 minutes late, what kept you?" Angie cried out at once.

Dawn and Ash were hunched over, trying to catch their breaths from their mad dash.

"There were...extenuating circumstances!" Dawn laughed, a sweat-drop forming on her head.

"Agreed!" Ash replied, a similar expression showing on his face.

Angie smiled at their excuses and ran up, hugging them both. "Anyway, it's great to see you all again! I know it's only been a few months, but it feels like longer."

"Pi?" Ash's favorite replied, a single ear raised in question.

"I missed you as well, Pikachu, no worries." Angie chuckled, patting it on the head.

"Ka-chu!" Pikachu replied, smiling in contentment.

Ash laughed, then looked around at the surrounding area.

"So, Angie...where exactly are we? I thought we were going to go ice-skating, but I don't see any lakes." Ash noted. Dawn started looking around too.

Angie just smiled and gestured at the pillar behind her, which was built into a large Mountain.

"Currently, we're a few hundred feet south-west of the Snowpoint City Gym. If you take a closer look at that mile-high pillar over there, you'll notice that hand-holds have been carved into the rock. At the top of that pillar is a wide plateau and in the center of that plateau is a special lake, known as Lake Acuity. Lake Acuity is said to be home to a Legendary Pokemon, though no one has yet confirmed this. It is also famous, however, for freezing solid one week, then being as fluid as a summer river the next. It's as if Mother Nature itself couldn't make up her mind as to how she wanted things to be."

"Wow, really?" Ash asked, his eyes wide with a sense of wonder, adventure, and curiosity. "That sounds really cool! Not to mention a possible Legendary Pokemon. That'd be great to see, wouldn't it Pikachu?" He said, looking at the 'mon on his shoulder.

"Chu!" Pikachu cried, in apparent agreement.

"That does sound pretty neat," Dawn agreed. "But...if the water constantly freezes and unfreezes, then wouldn't it be kind of dangerous to skate there?" She asked.

Angie laughed out loud, startling the others.

"I suppose it could be. But, life wouldn't be a lot of fun, without taking risks, right? Besides, if anything goes wrong...we have Ash to save us." She broke off and turned away, a blush dotting her face. She hadn't even meant to say that.

Dawn stared at her wordlessly. Had Angie actually said that? She knew that Angie always did her best to out-perform, or at least match, Ash in competitions. But, she had never been big on danger, and had never gone into dangerous situations on purpose, unless it involved one of her pokemon. She turned to see what Ash's reaction was.

Ash was staring at Angie, with a shocked look on his face. He was quick to play it off with one of his, i'll-never-understand-girls looks, but inside his mind was spinning. He'd never shown his real feelings when it came to females. He'd had a bit of a crush on Misty before, but the constant beatings he'd suffered at her hands also served to beat half of his feelings toward her out of his head. He'd also fancied May for awhile, but he wasn't going to try anything while her brother, Max, was around. Not to mention that, if he ever somehow broke her heart, her father, Norman, would probably send his Slaking to hand him his butt on a platter.

He'd had nightmares about that scenario for weeks.

After he started traveling with Dawn, he came to realize that his biggest reason for not having a relationship with any of his traveling companions was that to do so would be a huge 'middle-finger' to Brock, who had traveled with him since the beginning and was easily his closest, human friend. Brock had been having trouble with females for as long as Ash had known him and even though Brock might say he was happy for Ash, if he'd started dating one of his traveling companions, Ash just knew that the constant reminder that he, himself, had thus far failed to find love would really tear him up.

In most instances, Ash was a lot smarter then he ever received credit for.

That didn't stop him from gaining feelings for Angie, however. She was close to his age, like all the others before her, really cared about Pokemon, and really seemed to understand Ash, matching his passion in battles, training, and competition with her own. Even though they'd originally argued with each other, most every chance they got.

Not that she knew how he felt. He could just die.

Dawn decided it'd be best to change the subject.

"In that case, we should probably get moving before the Lake changes it's mind." She suggested.

"Sure Dawn," Ash quickly responded, happy for the out. "So...uh...who goes first?" He asked, upon realizing that the ledge was narrow enough that they'd have to climb it single file. "You want to lead off, Dawn?" he asked.

"And have you staring at my butt the entire time?" Dawn cried, indignantly, her cheeks turning a rosy pink. "No thanks! You can go first!"

Dawn was currently wearing a navy-blue, skier type suit, with pink stripes around her chest area and a matching scarf around her neck. Others might have understood her annoyance, had she been wearing her usual, barely-legal, jail-bait, mini skirt. But, to Dawn it was more the principal of the thing.

Ash raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "So what, are you saying you'd rather go behind me and stare at my butt the whole way up?"

Dawn opened her mouth to speak...then stopped, as she realized that Ash was absolutely right. Ash was currently wearing a black, ski-syle, alternative to his usual attire, complete with yellow stripes around his chest. It was better then his usual tight jeans, but the same principals applied.

"Yes..i mean, no...it's...but...i mean.." Dawn started sputtering, not having a 'right answer' for such a question. Angie started laughing out loud, again, at their amusing dilemma.

~Ten minutes later~

A black-gloved hand reached over the top of the pillar, entrance to the Mythical Lake Acuity, and Ash pulled himself over the side, with a gasp. The climb had been a lot more difficult then he'd expected. He gave a sigh of relief and then turned back towards the cliff, in case the next person coming up needed a hand.

A few moments later, a hand, sleeved in a sea-green ski suit, reached over the edge and sought out for something to grab hold of. Ash reached out, took the hand in his own, and then proceeded to pull Angie up. In no time, Angie laid back next to Ash, her chest heaving up and down as she gasped for breath, and her face crimson, having spent the better part of 10 minutes staring at Ash's ass.

Ash quickly hauled Dawn up as well, and all three of them took a moment to catch their breaths, before Dawn looked out at the lake.

"Oh wow, it's gorgeous!" she cried, as she leapt to her feet and started moving towards it. Ash and Angie also got up to look and stared with wonder. The entire lake, about a mile wide on all sides, was completely frozen over and devoid of any pokemon life. But, it shimmered a fantastic ice-blue and gold color, like a majestic dawn. Like Ho-Oh and Suicune had recently had some great encounter and this was the end result. There wasn't a single sound, save for the gentle, winter breeze, but a...presence lingered in the air. As if the lake held some mysterious treasures, just waiting to be discovered.

The three looked at each other, realized there was no need for words, and quickly pulled their ice-skates out of their backpacks. Dawn decided it was about time that she brought out her best friend. She reached for one of the pokeballs on her waist and threw it in the air.

"Okay, Piplup! Spotlight!" She cried, with a smile, and adding the little dance and twirl she had learned from watching May on t.v. Piplup came out of his pokeball, a shower of bubbles immediately appearing around him, and landing daintily on the frozen snow below them.

"Pip...lup!"

Angie squealed and rushed over to pet the cute pokemon, while Ash chuckled weakly.

"Hey Dawn, this isn't a Pokemon Contest you know. What was all that about?"

Dawn giggled, embarrassed at her own behavior. "Um, yeah..sorry about that. I just get into character like that sometimes and forget where I am."

She laughed at herself as she slipped on her blades and skated onto the lake. "Come on, you guys! It's a beautiful day outside, but there's no guarantee it'll stay that way!"

She skated, smoothly, backwards watching the other two trainers and pokemon. Ash and Angie looked at each other, smiled, and slapped their skates on as well.

"Wait for us!"

A few minutes later, had Ash and the others skating on the ice. Dawn was showing off her agility, spinning through the air every 20 seconds and landing gracefully back on the ice. Ash couldn't do that, so he was boldly skating as fast as he could, with Angie right behind him. Angie slid up an elevated piece of ice and jumped through the air. She came back down, gracefully, spraying ice particles in a beautiful arc, to Ash's amazement. Both Pikachu and Piplup were using their claws to slide along after their trainers. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and having a good time.

"You having fun, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner, as he and Angie skated by.

"Pika!" the thunder mouse agreed, going into a spin. Unfortunately, he hit a slick patch of ice and skidded out of control. He cried out as he flew across the ice, hitting an unsuspecting Piplup and sending them both flying off the lank and into a snowdrift.

Piplup moaned in his language, as he pulled himself out of the neck deep snow. Just in time for a pile of slush to fall on top of his head, from an over-hanging tree branch. Pikachu took one look at this and started laughing, in spite of himself. He failed to notice the increasingly angry stare that the water penguin pokemon was giving him.

"Piiiip-LUP!"

Pikachu stopped laughing, as a large splash of snow hit him, quite rudely and suddenly, in the face. He blinked in surprise at the sudden attack, then frowned in anger and annoyance. So Piplup wanted to throw snowballs, eh? That was fine with him!

"Ka-chu!" Pikachu cried, quickly forming his own projectile weapon and hurling it at his flight-impaired adversary. Piplup, caught off guard, took the snowball full in the face and fell on his behind. But, he immediately jumped back up and began hurling snowball after snowball at Pikachu. Pikachu jumped in surprise and quickly used agility to dodge them all. Ducking behind another snow drift, he used Iron Tail to return fire, his tail and the snow flashing silver as they flew at Piplup. Piplup was quick to respond, however, with a fierce bubblebeam. The powerful attack met the snowballs halfway, causing them to explode and send a spray of icy water everywhere.

"Piplup! What do you think you're doing? Stop that!" Dawn cried.

"Hey Pikachu, cut it out!" Ash called.

Far from listening, Piplup raised his arms to the sky with a melodic wail. A whirlpool of ice water appeared in the air and he hurled it at Pikachu. The whirlpool swiftly made it's way towards the electric mouse, picking up snow and ice in it's path. Pikachu leaped into the air and charged up an electric attack; his red cheeks sparking with his signature lightning. When he was over the water he launched a Thunder Bolt into the heart of the pool. The attack exploded and the shrapnel hit both parties, sending them flying back into the same snow drift.

Pikachu popped his head out first. He looked over at Piplup, when he reappeared, and started laughing. Piplup's face was covered in snow in a way that made him look like a Santa impersonator. Piplup looked over at Pikachu and started laughing in turn, as the snow on Pikachu's face made him look like an elf. The two realized they were no longer angry at each other, shook paws, and started building a snowman.

"Glad that's over." Angie sighed. "It was getting kind of scary. I can't believe how skilled your pokemon are!"

Dawn chuckled. "We've all been working hard to chase after our dreams. It's become our Pokemon's dreams, as well."

~ 4 hours later ~

Angie was in the hallway of the upper floor of the Pokemon Center, where trainers could get rooms to spend the night. The boat back home wouldn't return until tomorrow, so Angie and them were spending the night here. It was evening and Angie was staring out the window, at the city below, lost in thought.

"This is the perfect chance to tell him...but, is it the perfect time? I know most girls who've ever been in my position have asked all the questions I've asked myself...but, that doesn't detract from the fact it's true. What if he's not interested in me? He travels with pretty women all the time, surely he's already fallen for one of them." Angie sighed.

"Believe me, he's not." Dawn said, coming out of her room and walking up to Angie.

"Dawn!" Angie cried, in surprise. "You scared me. Y..you heard that?"

Dawn snorted, giving Angie a small smile. "It's kinda hard not to. You're not exactly known for being quiet. I think Ash was checking in on Brock, so he didn't hear anything. Not sure whether that's lucky or not, though."

Angie frowned in confusion. "What did you mean earlier?"

Dawn sighed. "Ash has several reasons, that I won't go into and you can ask himself later. But, Ash doesn't seek out relationship's with any of his traveling companions. Believe me, I've tried. But, I've long since come to accept his decisions. Not to mention his judgment. I know you care for him. I'm sure he cares for you. I'm fine with it, but...there won't be anything to be fine about unless you-"

"Tell him myself." Angie finished. "Yeah, it sounds easy in theory, but in real life? This is the first time I've ever felt this way. What if he doesn't return my feelings. I don't know what I'd do."

Dawn stepped closer to Angie and pulled her into a hug from behind. Angie gasped in surprise, but didn't fight it.

"The real question is whether or not you can live with yourself if you don't find out. Even if it turns out he doesn't accept your feelings, it's not necessarily the end of the world. You can still be friends, and there are indeed other fish in the sea. It just takes time."

Ash hung up the vid-phone. It looked like Brock was going to be alright. But, what about himself? He still hadn't said anything to Angie. Which wasn't good at all, for he had no idea when he would see her again. The next time they met, she could easily have found someone else. He didn't know how he'd react to that.

"There's always tomorrow I guess." He said to himself, as he started to take off his shirt and turn in for the night. Just then there was a knock on his door. He walked over, opened it, and was a bit surprised to see Angie standing in the doorway..

"Hey Ash. Um...can I come in?" she asked, nervously.

"Um, yeah, sure." He said, stepping aside to let her in.

Angie walked over to Ash's bed and sat on the edge of it. Ash stared for a moment before walking over and joining her.

"Angie...what is it? What's wrong? He asked.

Angie fidgeted for a moment, wondering if she should bother dragging this out or if it would be better to just get on with it, and get to part where she's crying in her room because Ash didn't like her that way or because there was someone else. Finally, she took a deep breath and turned to face Ash, looking him in the eyes.

"Ash...This isn't easy for me to say and I'm only going to say it once. So listen closely and please don't interrupt." She waited for Ash's conformation that he understood and continued. "When we first met each other I really didn't like you. Frankly, I thought you were far too over-confident, annoying, and that you didn't know the first thing about Pokemon. I was wrong. It quickly became clear that you knew exactly what you were talking about more then 90% of the time. Not only that, but you cared. You cared about them and about your friends. You were able to take completely random pokemon and gain their trust, just like you trusted them. It wasn't long before I followed your lead.

Later, when that spirit tried to suck me up into the Twilight Zone, or whatever,...you saved me. You refused to let go of my hand, even when I practically begged you to let me go and save yourself. You were willing to risk your life for one who'd only recently started being your friend. Then you saved me again when I would have fallen off a cliff. It's no wonder that...I started falling for you."

At this point, Ash's eyes widened in shock and he showed every intention of interrupting. Angie quickly put a finger to his lips and he fell back into speechlessness.

"You heard right, Ash. I started falling for you. I've had a crush on you ever since that Summer and I invited you back here, because I just had to see you again, Ash. I love you. Even if...even if you don't return my feelings...I think I might still love you. No, I know I will. You're just that kind of guy. And I..I just wanted you..to...know." she finished, her voice starting to crack at the end.

Angie removed her finger and replaced it with her lips. Ash gasped in utter shock that things had actually come to this. That the female he'd fancied for months now was actually feeling the same way.

He was feeling things too. Mainly the fact that Angie had aligned her body so that she was straddling Ash's lap, kissing him more passionately now. Ash wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer to him, sinking into the embrace. Both of them knew there was no reason for any more mushy words, and it was clear to Angie now how Ash felt. She reminded herself to thank Dawn later for her friendship and advice.

Ash decided to have another question of his answered. He moved one of his hands from her back, around to Angies front. He rubbed her stomach through the emerald, cotton pajama's she was currently wearing, then he slid it lower, stopping at her waistline. Breaking away from the kiss, he gazed at her, his eyes asking permission.

Angie bit her lower lip as she thought about it.

"Ash. I...I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. I know I will be one night,..but." She responded.

She look at Ash, with more then a little fear, as she waited for his reaction. Ash just smiled warmly and moved his hand back to it's original position. His mouth moved along her neck, planting Little bites and kisses along it, causing Angie to moan in pleasure and warmth.

"Don't worry. I definitely won't mind doing some more of this." She admitted, closing her eyes in contentment. It had been quite an interesting day indeed.


End file.
